The Duke’s Unexpected Love by Alexa Aston (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Strongs of Shadowcrest series. We start with a tragic prologue for James, who is a duke’s heir that gets abducted by sailors and forced onto a ship with limited memory of who he is. Many years later, we find that he’s the captain of a ship for a prosperous shipping line and recently landed in England for his next assignment. A drunkard who turns out to be his childhood tutor recognizes him in a tavern and insists that he’s a lord. James is pretty much shocked and surprised, but when he visits the duke’s household, he’s instantly recognized as the missing son of the duke. Meanwhile, Sophie, the owner of the shipping company is recently widowed and considering propositioning the handsome James for an affair, not knowing his newfound status or identity. James has bigger ideas (like marriage) and is actually trying to keep this all secret because he wants Sophie to accept him as a man, rather than a title. Add in the fact that James as a gaggle of sisters and cousins soon-to-debut, and we’ve got the beginnings of an interesting series.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.

The Duke’s All That by Christina Britton (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Synneful Spinsters series. Seraphina is living in the Isle of Synne with her two sisters running the circulating library on the island. She’s got a mysterious past and a bit defensive and skittish. Turns out she was married many years ago, betrayed by her love, sent to an asylum, and then ran away with her sisters to protect them from their father. Her security is disrupted when her long-lost husband Iain shows up on the Isle to demand a divorce from Seraphina. He believes that he was betrayed by her all those years ago, then believed she was dead, and only just learned that she was alive. And now that he’s a duke, he’ll need to marry again in the future and need to be free and clear to do so. He doesn’t tell Seraphina that he’s a duke, just in case she has aspirations of being a duchess, but they do set off on a road trip to get that divorce. Along the way, they do actually start to talk to each other about what went wrong all those years ago and realize that they were both told lies by her father. He’s interested in making the marriage real, but she refuses and wants to go back to her quiet life with her sisters. It’s all a huge mess, made worse by the fact that Iain is still secretly a duke.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.

The Duchess Takes a Lover by Jillian Eaton (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Ladies of Seduction series. Lonely and abandoned duchess, Mara, is rumored to be planning on taking a lover this season, much to the anger and dismay of her husband Ambrose. He comes back to the castle where he left her alone to confront her on the issue and finds a stern and outspoken wife instead of the meek and quiet woman he’d known before. We get to see bits of flashbacks to their courtship, knowing that Ambrose purposely sought to marry a woman he would not love so that he can stay in control of his placid emotions. But of course, he’s been in love with her this whole time without realizing it and he’s intensely jealous of the idea that she might take another lover. Both of these people are unwilling to risk their own emotions due to past trauma and heartache, but it’s clear that they actually just want each other and not anyone else.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.

The True Heir by Merry Farmer (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 6 of the Secrets of Nedworth Hall series. This book will make the most sense after reading the rest of the series because it has to do with the overarching mystery of a secret heir to a fortune. Millie is a farmer’s daughter who has been sponsored by a countess to attend the house party as a lady’s maid. A brief introduction to a helpful David has her believing that he’s a valet, but it is soon apparent that he’s a duke and very much out of her league. David is kind and thoughtful and really has very little tolerance for the chaos and mayhem of the house party. He’s disappointed to find that the only woman he’s drawn to (Millie) is a lady’s maid and very much below his station. However, we find out pretty quickly that they’re better suited than they think and we get to see a lot of secrets revealed in this story. Quick read and nice way to tie up the whole series.

Advance ebook provided by Merry Farmer via BookSprout

How Not to Hate a Duke by Jennifer Haymore (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novel. Georgiana is a wealthy merchant’s daughter completely tired of the fortune hunters seeking her attention. She’s convinced by her good friend to attend a house party in the country to avoid some of those terrible suitors. Meanwhile, a certain dastardly duke is also invited to the same house party. Theo has recently inherited the title from his depraved father but is believed to be of the same ilk, leaving him emotionally exhausted by all the hatred by his neighbors and tenants. It doesn’t help that Georgiana’s family is the main opponent to Theo’s endeavors due to a long-standing family rivalry. When Georgiana and Theo realize they’re at the same house party, they first try to avoid each other, and then end up antagonizing (and then flirting with) each other. But you know that open communication does wonders, so they start to actually get along (and maybe even fall in love). The drama with Georgiana’s family is still looming though and Theo has a lot of work to do to fix his reputation on his estate.

Advance ebook provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.

Bride by Ali Hazelwood (2024)

Paranormal romance. Standalone novel. Misery is the daughter of a powerful Vampyre councilman often used as a political pawn. The latest ordinance from her father is to marry the Were Alpha leader Lowe to form an alliance and prevent all-out war. She’s totally apprehensive of the whole thing, but she believes that Lowe is the key to finding her missing best friend. Of course, she thinks that Lowe hates her and is disgusted by her scent, but we’re guessing that Lowe thinks Misery smells just peachy and is trying to avoid getting his heart broken. We get all sorts of interesting political drama and maneuvering with this book, plus a slow build of trust and friendship for Misery and Lowe. Add in some phermonal mating glands, feeding lust, and knotting, and we end up with Hazelwood’s spiciest traditionally published novel to date.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

In Want of a Viscount by Lorraine Heath (2024)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Chessmen series. Leonora is an American inventor in England with her family seeking investors in her writing machine, although her crass overbearing mother is seeking a titled husband for Leonora. She sneaks off to a ladies’ club and asks for a kiss. The club owner seems to be short-staffed in the gentlemen escort department and asks his own titled brother, Rook, to see to the kissing. Rook and Leonora don’t exchange names, but do exchange a kiss, leaving Leonora passed out from absinthe and Rook wondering what he did wrong. And of course, they cross paths later when Rook turns out to be a potential investor in the company. They flirt, they dance, they can’t seem to stay away from each other. And Rook is the only man (aside from her father) who has ever appreciated Leonora’s curiosity for machinery. However, Rook is not interested in marriage and basically a very controlled man who denies himself lustful indulgences due to his own father’s scandalous behavior. These two are fairly slow to realize they’re perfect for each other, but it’s a fun read along the way.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

The Fake February Rake by Charlie Lane (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Rake Review series. Hades is a respectable doctor in London, until his greatcoat goes missing and is sighted on a man escorting women away at night time. This all gets reported upon in the gossip columns, ruining Hades’ reputation and causing his patients to seek medical care elsewhere. He’s out to confront the coat thief and reclaim his coat and finds Lady Ophelia wearing it to escort women away from their abusive situations and guide them to safety. They argue a bit and he eventually reports her actions to her father; who suggests that they marry each other to restore the good doctor’s reputation. Ophelia refuses at first since she’s totally untrusting of men, but he decides he’ll convince her to come around. As they spend more time together, she starts to see that Hades is not at all like the other men in her acquaintance and starts to admire him. In turn, he supports her acts in rescuing women in horrible conditions and admires her even more because of it. The romance here is relatively straightforward, with both parties communicating pretty directly about their stance and objectives.

Advance ebook provided by Charlie Lane.

Never Woo the Wrong Lady by Charlie Lane (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Gentleman’s Guide to Courtship series. A duke with eight sisters is intent on marrying them off in short order, but those of marriageable age are uninterested in the task. This is mostly because they’re busy running a lending library of naughty books that their mother owned before she died. Andromeda believes herself to be safe from the task because of her secret fake fiancee who is actually a rare book supplier. Except that her brother’s friend Tristan is seeking a wife and has singled Andromeda out as his desired partner, regardless of her absent fiancee. Tristan is the older illegitimate son of an earl who now has guardianship of his thirteen-year old lordling brother, but the boy’s aunt continues to threaten the status of that guardianship. He needs a respectable wife to provide a maternal influence on the wayward teen and hopes that a duke’s sister will provide it. We have instant sparks between Tristan and Andromeda, despite her denials and reluctance. She’s mostly worried that her secret project will come to light and cause a scandal, especially since Tristan is a clever newspaperman. However, Tristan is oh so attentive to Andromeda and is very good at convincing her that they make good partners. This was a really great introduction to this series and I loved seeing their two families integrate together.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.

Mortgage of Convenience by Dani McLean (2024)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Ghostwriter Bee is secretly working on her own novel but has hit a creative block and moved back to her hometown. On an impromptu trip to the bank with her brother’s best friend Sebastian, she offers herself up to him as a co-owner of the house he wants to buy so that he can qualify for the loan. She’s got a long-time crush on him, but can totally handle being a quiet unobtrusive housemate. Except that Sebastian also has a crush on Bee and doesn’t stand for her hiding in her room all day long. He tries very hard to break her out of her comfort zone, including maybe starting a physical relationship, which he wants to be the real deal and she wants to keep secret in case it doesn’t work out. Bee has a lot of growing to do within this book to get to the “settled down” phase that Sebastian is looking for. Flirty, steamy, funny story with Sebastian being the most supportive partner ever.

Advance ebook provided by Dani McLean via NetGalley.

The Earl’s Red Hot Wedding by Barbara Russell (2024)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Victorian Outcasts series. Brandon and Emily meet as young adults on the train and quickly form a bond when they’re both injured in a tragic train accident. Despite promising to keep in touch, they’ve lost contact with each other for many years. Ten years after the accident, Emily is London with her aunt and cousin seeking employment as a governess, but is having difficulty doing so with her fear of carriages and enclosed spaces. Meanwhile Brandon has been the hermit earl for all these years, battling back pain from his train injuries as well as an opium addiction. When they finally cross paths again after all those years, Brandon seeks to make amends and recover their friendship. He soon learns that Emily’s aunt is about to steal her inheritance and proposes a quick marriage of convenience to save it. It’s a mad dash to Scotland to elope, further complicated by Emily’s fear of the train, but Brandon is determined to protect and soothe Emily along the way. I enjoyed reading about these two who are bound by tragedy, reconnect after all these years, and thwart their villains along the way to falling in love.

Advance ebook provided by Oliver Heber Books via BookSprout.

Fish Out of Water by Katie Ruggle (2024)

Contemporary Romance. Standalone novel. Dahlia is in a small mountain town looking for her missing sister and enlists the help of local grumpy hermit Winston. He’s apparently skilled at survival while hiking, so he helps her through the mountains. These two are full of banter and shy flirty glances, and apparently Winston is a stealth cinnamon roll. The forced proximity of the hike and huddling in the tent for warmth turns into huddling for more than just warmth. As we get closer to possibly finding Dahlia’s sister, we get to see some crazypants out-of-nowhere plot when we we’ve just been quietly hiking through the woods thus far. Super fun and sweet and we get some third-act adventure too.

Advance ebook provided by Sourcebooks via NetGalley.

Highland Heartbreaker by Steffy Smith (2024)

Historical romance. 14th Century Scotland. Book 2 of the Highland Hearts series. We have an arranged marriage here between the son of a Scottish laird and an English lady. Everyone is apprehensive of the match, but Alex is instantly attracted to Grace when he sets eyes on her. She generally has a nervous disposition but likes how welcoming Alex and his sister are to her. When Alex’s father shows up after the wedding, things are tense because of his prejudices against the English, and Grace is also wary of Alex’s womanizing reputation. It’s pretty clear that he’s smitten with Grace though and the drama there resolves rather quickly. This book was a relatively quick read and plenty steamy.

Advance ebook provided by Steffy Smith.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein (2024)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Mabel is a ghostwriter assigned to work on the memoirs of former footballer Alfie. They have a terrible first impression, mostly because Alfie is extremely gruff and Mabel is insecure and awkward. They continue to have awkward meetings with each other, mostly due to Alfie’s complete and total lack of social skills. And then somehow, they settle on a truce of sorts, only to be photographed together and assumed to be in a relationship. They end up leaning into the rumors and starting a fake relationship with each other. Both of these people are deeply insecure about their looks and personality and really cannot believe that the other person could truly like them, so it makes for a lot of awkwardness overall. However, Alfie is a total softie and caring and protective and Mabel is embarrassingly smitten with him, even though she’s self conscious that she’s not as beautiful as his former girlfriends. We get a lot of really funny banter here with a lot of accidental lusting after each other, but the deep-seated insecurity is going to be a tough one to overcome.

Advance ebook provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

A Collision of Stars by Georgia Stone (2024)

Contemporary Romance. Standalone novel. Humorous, grumpy-sunshine, friends-to-lovers romance. Ava is a grumpy barista who is basically just getting by and the overcharming overeager overly chatty Finn is a regular customer at the coffee shop. Ava’s looking for casual hook-ups as a way to pass the time before she goes home for some intense introverting, but her roommate/best friend is worried about her. In order to seem less lonely and pathetic, she tells her best friend that she even made a new platonic friend recently and lies that it’s Finn. After Finn catches her in the lie, he leverages it to his advantage to have Ava help him with his London bucket list. Finn seems to bounce around from continent to continent and does not seem to be good at setting down roots, but he sure is charming, in that nerdy adorkable sort of way. We get these total opposites spending time together, bantering like crazy, and slowly developing real feelings, which Ava is clearly afraid of. This book is so charming and delightful and I had so much fun reading it.

Advance ebook provided by Georgia Stone.

Betting Against the Scoundrel by Mariah Stone (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Dukes and Secrets series. Former duke Spencer is back from his involuntary stint in the Navy, now with a limp, nightmares, and lack of direction. His brother and heir Preston is irrevocably the new duke and also married to the woman Spencer had loved and wanted to marry. Although everyone is glad to see Spencer alive, he’s broody and isolated and set on revenge against the corrupt duke who sent him to sea. Meanwhile, the overlooked and ignored Joanna is attempting to rescue her own family from ruin by that same duke (and her uncle) by searching for blackmail material. She and Spencer cross paths with their common enemy, but they have opposing purposes. There’s some bickering between the two, but the attraction between them is undeniable. Although Spencer tries to seduce Joanna, he’s also unwilling to start any sort of proper courtship, even as he starts to realize he cares for her.

Advance ebook provided by Mariah Stone via BookSprout.

To Woo and to Wed by Martha Waters (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Regency Vows series. West and Sophie had been courting seven years ago, until West’s disapproving father got involved and Sophie ended up married to someone else. Not only that, but West was badly injured in a curricle race that also killed his best friend, and he’s been in a rough place ever since. Now that widowed Sophie is back in West’s social sphere, they just keep running into each other at various events. He’s pretty sure that she’s not open to another courtship, so he tries his best to keep his distance. Until Sophie proposes a fake engagement to West so that her sister would be willing marry her own suitor without fear of Sophie’s loneliness. Seeing an opportunity to spend more time with Sophie and to rile up his horrible father, West agrees. And so we have a fake engagement second chance situation where these two finally talk about what went wrong all those years ago.

Advance ebook provided by Atria Books via NetGalley.

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Give the Devil His Duke by Anna Bradley (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Drop Dead Dukes series. After a huge scandal that killed her father and cast out her mother many years ago, Lady Francesca is back in London for the Season, looking to convince her uncle to give her some money so that she and her mother can buy coal and food for the winter. She somehow catches the attention of Giles, the handsome duke who intends to marry her cousin and is also the son of the man who ruined her family. With all sorts of gossip stirring in the scandal sheets, Giles tries to make amends by showing politeness and courtesy to Francesca. She’s not really interested though, even if he is rather handsome. This story had more unexpected twists with the manipulations of Francesca’s cousin and horrible aunt and uncle, but luckily Giles has a supportive friend group and family.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

What I Did For a Duke by Julie Anne Long (2011)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Pennyroyal Green series. Serious and stern duke Alex catches Ian Eversea in bed with his fiance, so he decides to take his revenge by seducing and abandoning Ian’s sister, Genevieve. Except Genevieve is both too clever and too preoccupied to fall prey to Alex’s games. She’s spent the past few years in love with her good friend Harry, who she was hoping would propose to her during the house party her parents are hosting. Except that he tells her that he’s planning to propose to another woman. She puts up a calm facade but is most definitely heartbroken. When Alex shows up to the house party, Genevieve obeys her mother’s wishes to spend time with him, but she’s not interested in the much older man at all. Until they actually start talking to each other and getting to know each other and realize that it’s nice to talk to someone at the same intellectual level. And while Genevieve never becomes a victim to Alex’s revenge, she does end up attracted to him and conflicted about her feelings. Alex is also realizing that he’s his own victim as well, falling in love with Genevieve when she’s in love with someone else. A big huge muddle, but very entertaining to read.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Mortgage of Convenience by Dani McLean (2024)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Ghostwriter Bee is secretly working on her own novel but has hit a creative block and moved back to her hometown. On an impromptu trip to the bank with her brother’s best friend Sebastian, she offers herself up to him as a co-owner of the house he wants to buy so that he can qualify for the loan. She’s got a long-time crush on him, but can totally handle being a quiet unobtrusive housemate. Except that Sebastian also has a crush on Bee and doesn’t stand for her hiding in her room all day long. He tries very hard to break her out of her comfort zone, including maybe starting a physical relationship, which he wants to be the real deal and she wants to keep secret in case it doesn’t work out. Bee has a lot of growing to do within this book to get to the “settled down” phase that Sebastian is looking for. Flirty, steamy, funny story with Sebastian being the most supportive partner ever.

Advance ebook provided by Dani McLean via NetGalley.

How the Marquess Was Won by Julie Anne Long (2011)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 6 of the Pennyroyal Green series. This one is another angsty heartbreaker in the Pennyroyal Green series. We start off with a marquess who has been shot stumbling his way into the pub for help, and then we go backward in time six weeks to find out what happened to him. Jules is known as the Lord of Ice by reputation and known for both his command of emotion and his callousness with feelings. He’s in Pennyroyal Green for the Redmond house party, where he’ll be courting the family niece Lisbeth so that he can secure the last of his lost property in her dowry. Except he also meets schoolteacher Phoebe, who has been invited to the same house party as Lisbeth’s companion, and he’s much more intrigued and entertained by her. They talk and banter and flirt and know that there is no future for them, but still, Jules becomes more open and communicative when he’s with Phoebe. And she gets the opportunity to use her wit and intellect and be appreciated for it. Despite the strength of their attraction (and clearly much more), she refuses his offer to be his mistress, both hurting his pride and his heart. And while they both try very hard to forget each other, it’s not very successful.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Earl’s Red Hot Wedding by Barbara Russell (2024)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Victorian Outcasts series. Brandon and Emily meet as young adults on the train and quickly form a bond when they’re both injured in a tragic train accident. Despite promising to keep in touch, they’ve lost contact with each other for many years. Ten years after the accident, Emily is London with her aunt and cousin seeking employment as a governess, but is having difficulty doing so with her fear of carriages and enclosed spaces. Meanwhile Brandon has been the hermit earl for all these years, battling back pain from his train injuries as well as an opium addiction. When they finally cross paths again after all those years, Brandon seeks to make amends and recover their friendship. He soon learns that Emily’s aunt is about to steal her inheritance and proposes a quick marriage of convenience to save it. It’s a mad dash to Scotland to elope, further complicated by Emily’s fear of the train, but Brandon is determined to protect and soothe Emily along the way. I enjoyed reading about these two who are bound by tragedy, reconnect after all these years, and thwart their villains along the way to falling in love.

Advance ebook provided by Oliver Heber Books via BookSprout.

Never Woo the Wrong Lady by Charlie Lane (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Gentleman’s Guide to Courtship series. A duke with eight sisters is intent on marrying them off in short order, but those of marriageable age are uninterested in the task. This is mostly because they’re busy running a lending library of naughty books that their mother owned before she died. Andromeda believes herself to be safe from the task because of her secret fake fiancee who is actually a rare book supplier. Except that her brother’s friend Tristan is seeking a wife and has singled Andromeda out as his desired partner, regardless of her absent fiancee. Tristan is the older illegitimate son of an earl who now has guardianship of his thirteen-year old lordling brother, but the boy’s aunt continues to threaten the status of that guardianship. He needs a respectable wife to provide a maternal influence on the wayward teen and hopes that a duke’s sister will provide it. We have instant sparks between Tristan and Andromeda, despite her denials and reluctance. She’s mostly worried that her secret project will come to light and cause a scandal, especially since Tristan is a clever newspaperman. However, Tristan is oh so attentive to Andromeda and is very good at convincing her that they make good partners. This was a really great introduction to this series and I loved seeing their two families integrate together.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.

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Some Dukes Have All the Luck by Christina Britton (2022)

Historical romance in Regency-ish era England; Book 1 of the Synneful Spinsters series. Odd-girl Bronwyn aspires to be a published entomologist, much to the dismay of her social-climbing parents. They push her to marry a titled gentleman and are even more abrasive after a past heartbreak and a recently lost chance at courtship by a duke. Meanwhile, Ash is trying to recover his runaway wards and shield them from his own dukedom’s cruel reputation. They literally bump into each other in the street, and unexpectedly meet again at his manor when she visits his playful and inquisitive wards. Ash gets the bright idea to marry a woman who will care for the wards and proposes to Bronwyn. We have a delightful marriage of convenience, where they do participate in the marriage bed, and a supportive friendship between the two. Loved seeing these two slowly learn to trust each other, but they’re both still hanging on the past hurts and betrayals. I love how quick Ash is to defend Bronwyn’s intelligence. Basically, any support of a partners’s aspirations as an A+ in my book.

Advance ebook provided by Forever via NetGalley. Print book provided by Forever.

What’s a Duke Got to Do With It by Christina Britton (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Synneful Spinsters series. We start with a tragic prologue for Katrina, who is the sister of a baronet, enjoying her first flirtatious season. Just as it seems like her flirtation with a young lord might be headed somewhere, he’s called away from a ball unexpectedly. What follows is another lord sneaking into her window uninvited, being caught by her brother, and imminent scandal. Years later, Katrina is resigned to living as a companion to a stern dowager viscountess. And that idiot lord has attempted again to climb into her window, this time falling to his death, and causing tons more scandal for Katrina. Meanwhile, Sebastian (the man called away from that last ball) has been digging his way out of his father’s debts and is on the cusp of marrying a wealthy heiress. He just needs to fulfill one assignment for her father, which is to distract her brother from marrying an actress. Sebastian and his charge find themselves hosted by the dowager viscountess. Sebastian and Katrina have the opportunity to meet again and reconnect, even though both of their circumstances have changed, and for very practical reasons, they don’t have a future together. It was still fun to read how much Sebastian has been pining for Katrina all these years and how Katrina’s odd group of friends rally behind her. And the matchmaking dowager is also the best.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.

The Duke’s All That by Christina Britton (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Synneful Spinsters series. Seraphina is living in the Isle of Synne with her two sisters running the circulating library on the island. She’s got a mysterious past and a bit defensive and skittish. Turns out she was married many years ago, betrayed by her love, sent to an asylum, and then ran away with her sisters to protect them from their father. Her security is disrupted when her long-lost husband Iain shows up on the Isle to demand a divorce from Seraphina. He believes that he was betrayed by her all those years ago, then believed she was dead, and only just learned that she was alive. And now that he’s a duke, he’ll need to marry again in the future and need to be free and clear to do so. He doesn’t tell Seraphina that he’s a duke, just in case she has aspirations of being a duchess, but they do set off on a road trip to get that divorce. Along the way, they do actually start to talk to each other about what went wrong all those years ago and realize that they were both told lies by her father. He’s interested in making the marriage real, but she refuses and wants to go back to her quiet life with her sisters. It’s all a huge mess, made worse by the fact that Iain is still secretly a duke.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.

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Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

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Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Claiming the Duchess by Sherry Thomas (2014)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Prequel to the Fitzhugh Trilogy. Clarissa is a widowed duchess throwing a house party to find herself a new husband when she’s out of mourning. She invites one of her late husband’s friends Mr. Kingston to join since she’s had a fascination with him for years. He’s shy and awkward and might also have held an admiration for Clarissa all these years as well. Super quick short story.

Ebook purchased via Amazon.

Beguiling the Beauty by Sherry Thomas (2012)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Fitzhugh Trilogy series. Young duke Christian has been infatuated with the beautiful Venetia from afar when he first sets eyes on her. After many years of this obsession, he says some terribly disparaging things about her at a scientific lecture in America, not realizing that she’s in the audience. Venetia is a widow twice-over, enjoying her unmarried life, and was in America to chaperone her younger sister. After hearing Christian’s assault on her character, she’s both outraged and despondent. Under the protection of a veiled hat, she encounters Christian again on their ship going back to England and she aims to seduce him and then break his heart. It all goes wrong when she actually falls in love with him, but also cannot reveal her true identity. It’s an emotional and angsty journey for them both.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas (2012)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Fitzhugh Trilogy series. Millie and Fitz have been married platonically for eight years and soon to embark on their agreement to try to have children. Except that Fitz is distracted and excited by the fact that his first love is recently widowed and on her way back to England. This book is told over two timelines, showing the progress through Millie and Fitz’ eight year marriage and showing their present day friendship. Fitz had inherited an impoverished earldom, necessitating his marriage to a wealthy heiress even though he had hopes of marrying someone else. Millie has been in love with Fitz for all this time, but she has not given him any clues about her feelings and maintained quiet dignity and strength while he has been heartbroken over his lost love. However, over the years, we get to see Fitz become a strong and steady presence in Millie’s life and ever-so-slowly becoming her closest friend. This whole book is the slowest of slow burns and heartbreaking in all the best ways.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Bride of Larkspear by Sherry Thomas (2012)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2.5 of the Fitzhugh Trilogy series. This story is the fictional book written by David and given to Helena in the Fitzhugh Trilogy series. David writes the tale of Lord Larkspear who has rescued a woman from scandal by marrying her, except that she despises her new husband. He tries to seduce her into submission without letting her know that he is secretly in love with her. While this is mostly a smutty novella, it’s told entirely from Lord Larkspear’s heartbreaking point of view.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Tempting the Bride by Sherry Thomas (2012)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Fitzhugh Trilogy series. Helena is nearly caught in a compromising situation with a married man and forced to marry her brother’s best friend and actual enemy, David. What she doesn’t know is that David has been in love with her for decades and catches her attention by antagonizing her. She shortly gets into an accident where she’s gravely injured and wakes up with no memory of her supposed husband. Now that David has a second chance to make a first impression, he’s kind and solicitous, even though he fears the day that Helena gets her memory back. It’s the worst sort of pining that David has for Helena, with his own self-destructive behavior. Bonus points for the kindness and caring he has for his young daughter.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

A Dance in Moonlight by Sherry Thomas (2013)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 4 of the Fitzhugh Trilogy series. After Isabelle is rejected by Fitz, she’s heartbroken and somewhat distraught. She mistakes her new neighbor Ralston for Fitz, since they look so much alike and propositions him. However, things take a turn towards an open and honest friendship between these two and a relationship develops in spite of Ralston’s appearance. This one was a quick novella that gives a happy ending to the “other woman”.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Lady Saves the Duke by Annabelle Anders (2019)

Book 3 of the Lord Love a Lady series. Abigail and Alex somehow get stuck in a boat together during a house party, where Abigail suffers a scandalous wardrobe malfunction. Alex, being the upstanding duke that he is, offers her marriage. Seeing no other opportunities to get out of her negligent parents’ house, she agrees. Alex aims for a practical arrangement, but they certainly get to know each other as they travel towards his country home. Both Alex and Abigail have suffered terrible hardships in the past, and sharing them strengthens their bond.

Shop this book via Amazon

How the Duke Was Won by Lenora Bell (2016)

Book 1 of Disgraceful Dukes Series. Charlene Beckett is the illegitimate daughter of a courtesan and an earl, paid by the countess to impersonate her half-sister Lady Dorothea in a bid to win the Duke of Harland’s affections. James, the Duke of Harland was the second son and unexpected heir, looking for a society wife. As a fun aside, he also is obsessed with chocolate and owns a chocolate factory. To help search for his new wife, James invites four ladies to visit his estate for a few days. Although he is not interested in falling in love (or lust) with any of them, he can’t help but be drawn to Lady Dorothea (who is actually Charlene). And while Charlene is determined to win James’ affections for her sister (and her payment from the countess), she starts to have feelings for him and feel guilty for the deception.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Libro.fm

How To Love A Duke in Ten Days by Kerrigan Byrne (2019)

Historical romance, Victorian England. Book 1 of the Devil You Know series. As expected, there was a huge amount of drama and emotional turmoil in this book. We start with a tragic prologue where Alexandra is attacked by her school headmaster, defends herself, and then needs her friends to assist her in covering things up. To help her feel better, her two best friends reveal their own tragic secrets. As expected, the two friends will make up the main characters of the other two books in this series. Chapter one starts ten years later when she’s on her way to a duke’s masquerade ball where her friend is supposed to be announced as his fiancee. What follows is a series of near-death experiences, blackmail, family destitution, and a fearful pull that Alexandra has towards her friend’s intended, Piers. Don’t worry though, her friend is not in love with him at all and it was a marriage contract from many years past. When she finds out about the allowance the future duchess will receive, she proposes that the duke marry her instead of her friend. And then we have even more drama with Piers’ backstory with his family history, being attacked and scarred, being ditched by his fiancee for his cousin, and mistrust of women. These two people have their own reasons for not trusting one another but somehow feel safe and protected when they’re together. Loved seeing them start to slowly melt towards each other.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare (2014)

Book 1 of the Castles Ever After series. Izzy is living in destitute times after her writer father passes away without any money, so she’s glad to inherit a castle so that she at least has someplace to live. When she gets there, the castle is already occupied by the scarred and blind grump of a duke Ransom. They’ll need to work out who truly has ownership of the place.

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To Love a Scandalous Duke by Liana De la Rosa (2017)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Once Upon a Scandal series. Childhood friends who were separated by tragic circumstances (and possible family betrayal) are reunited here. Declan has returned to England after being sent away for the past twelve years following the tragic death of his father; upon his return, he finds that his brother has died and is now the duke. Lady Alethea is the daughter of an earl, Declan’s childhood neighbor and friend, and is instantly drawn to Declan again, despite his hurtful accusations about her father before he left the country. There’s definitely a bit of mystery here between the two families, with Declan’s father being blamed for a huge financial scandal before killing himself, and Declan’s older brother dying under suspicious circumstances. While Declan is trying to uncover the truth, he’s distracted by Alethea’s presence. Alethea is mostly just trying to get by and assert her independence, not believing her own father capable of the misdeeds Declan suspects of him. The romance part of this book was fairly straightforward, and I was mostly captivated by the mystery element and wanting to know the truth of the scandal that happened all those years ago. And with our luck, we got to uncover another juicy secret in the meantime.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Much Ado About Dukes by Eva Devon (2022)

Book 2 of the Never a Wallflower series. Two fiery and independent people agree on their political aspirations, but William wants nothing to do with passion or love. Beatrice needs the duke’s support for her political endeavors so continues to seek him out. They are thrown together when his brother wants to marry her cousin and they strike up a friendship. When she finds her uncle has lost all her money, he proposes a marriage of convenience to help her situation. I loved reading these two very supportive friends and partners.

Advanced ebook provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.

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Tall, Duke, and Dangerous by Megan Frampton (2020)

Book 2 of the Hazards of Dukes series. All I remember about this book is that the grumpy duke is giving self-defense lessons to the fiesty lady. And then they fall in love. But what more do you need to know?

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While the Duke Was Sleeping by Sophie Jordan (2016)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Rogue Files series. Poppy is a worker in a flower shop who is smitten with one of the regular customers, even though the duke doesn’t pay her much attention. When she sees him fighting in the street with another man and does not see an oncoming carriage, she pushes him out of the way, saving his life, but also rendering him unconscious. The man he was fighting with turns out to be his illegitimate half-brother, Struan, who he refuses to acknowledge. In the confusion of bringing the injured duke home, Poppy is assumed to be the duke’s fiance. Struan is skeptical of that, but still believes Poppy to be the duke’s paramour. The duke’s household and family are overjoyed the meet Poppy and enthusiastically welcome her to the family, causing her to feel even more guilty for the deception. Throughout all of this, Struan both antagonizes and physically pursues Poppy, which she both enjoys and rejects. Even though she isn’t truly engaged to the duke, she still isn’t free to pursue Struan, who is not offering anything honorable to her anyway. Still, this book was an entertaining story and I enjoyed meeting the duke’s warm and welcoming family.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Dare to Love a Duke by Eva Leigh (2018)

Historical romance in Regency/Victorian era England; book 3 of the London Underground series. We have our newly inherited duke still mourning his father but dealing with his new responsibilities. Knowing that he has to protect his mother and sister’s reputations, he will have to cease going to flirt with the proprietress of the sex club he frequents. After he spends one last night with her, he finds out that his father actually secretly owned the club and he needs to decide whether to keep it open or shut it down. High drama there!

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Dancing with the Duke by Suzanna Medeiros (2012)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Prequel novella of the Landing a Lord series. Alex has promised his sister and mother that he would dance with his sister’s friend Charlotte at her first ball. When he sees her for the first time in many years, he finds a beautiful woman in place of the awkward gangly teen who had a crush on him before. He’s surprised that he’s so attracted to her and tries to avoid her after that ball, but as he keeps crossing paths with her, he cannot seem to resist. It’s a quick low-angst story here to introduce his friends, who have longer stories.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Her Night with the Duke by Diana Quincy (2021)

Book 1 of the Clandestine Affairs series. Two strangers meet at an inn and hook up and go about their merry way. He’s a duke who is going to meet his soon-to-be fiancee, so he gets there and meets with the girl’s family. And her stepmother is the woman he met at the inn! Talk about awkward. They eventually agree never to bring it up again. Everyone tries to do the honorable thing, etc. But the attraction is obviously still there and we’re just waiting to see how it breaks through. And also wondering how the issue with the impending engagement is going to be resolved. Such a sticky situation and satisfying to read.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Libro.fm

Accidentally Compromising the Duke by Stacy Reid (2016)

Book 1 of the Wedded by Scandal series. Adeline is trying to escape a betrothal to someone her parents picked out, so she attempts to sneak into the room of her chosen groom and get caught there. Except her friend sent her to the room of an unsuspecting duke, and she gets caught with him instead. Ever so honorable, Edmund proposes marriage and hopes for the best.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Libro.fm

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Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

A Perfect Hero by Samantha James (2005)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Sterling Family series. Julianna is traveling alone in a coach and gets stopped by a highwayman known as the Magpie. After being injured in the overturned carriage, Dane reluctantly takes her back to his cottage to recuperate. Of course, once she sees his face unmasked, he can’t let her leave, so they’re stuck in this cottage together with a lot of uncertainty on how to proceed. Dane isn’t even really a highwayman; he’s actually a spy looking for evidence of counterfeiting. As Julianna and Dane spend more time together, of course, they find a connection, despite the fact that they’re both lying about their true identities. It’s a bit of idyllic isolation for them there in a cottage, but it’ll be tough to extrapolate to their real lives out in the world.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein (2024)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Mabel is a ghostwriter assigned to work on the memoirs of former footballer Alfie. They have a terrible first impression, mostly because Alfie is extremely gruff and Mabel is insecure and awkward. They continue to have awkward meetings with each other, mostly due to Alfie’s complete and total lack of social skills. And then somehow, they settle on a truce of sorts, only to be photographed together and assumed to be in a relationship. They end up leaning into the rumors and starting a fake relationship with each other. Both of these people are deeply insecure about their looks and personality and really cannot believe that the other person could truly like them, so it makes for a lot of awkwardness overall. However, Alfie is a total softie and caring and protective and Mabel is embarrassingly smitten with him, even though she’s self conscious that she’s not as beautiful as his former girlfriends. We get a lot of really funny banter here with a lot of accidental lusting after each other, but the deep-seated insecurity is going to be a tough one to overcome.

Advance ebook provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

Bride by Ali Hazelwood (2024)

Paranormal romance. Standalone novel. Misery is the daughter of a powerful Vampyre councilman often used as a political pawn. The latest ordinance from her father is to marry the Were Alpha leader Lowe to form an alliance and prevent all-out war. She’s totally apprehensive of the whole thing, but she believes that Lowe is the key to finding her missing best friend. Of course, she thinks that Lowe hates her and is disgusted by her scent, but we’re guessing that Lowe thinks Misery smells just peachy and is trying to avoid getting his heart broken. We get all sorts of interesting political drama and maneuvering with this book, plus a slow build of trust and friendship for Misery and Lowe. Add in some phermonal mating glands, feeding lust, and knotting, and we end up with Hazelwood’s spiciest traditionally published novel to date.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Betting Against the Scoundrel by Mariah Stone (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Dukes and Secrets series. Former duke Spencer is back from his involuntary stint in the Navy, now with a limp, nightmares, and lack of direction. His brother and heir Preston is irrevocably the new duke and also married to the woman Spencer had loved and wanted to marry. Although everyone is glad to see Spencer alive, he’s broody and isolated and set on revenge against the corrupt duke who sent him to sea. Meanwhile, the overlooked and ignored Joanna is attempting to rescue her own family from ruin by that same duke (and her uncle) by searching for blackmail material. She and Spencer cross paths with their common enemy, but they have opposing purposes. There’s some bickering between the two, but the attraction between them is undeniable. Although Spencer tries to seduce Joanna, he’s also unwilling to start any sort of proper courtship, even as he starts to realize he cares for her.

Advance ebook provided by Mariah Stone via BookSprout.

When the Duke Bought a Wife by Mariah Stone (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Prequel novella of the Dukes and Secrets series. Emma is in a terrible marriage with a baronet who is much older and cruel and definitely did not deliver on the financial assistance that her parents needed when she married him. And in the course of traveling through the countryside, he’s had enough of her insolence, so he dresses them both up as pig farmers and sells her in the square in a wife auction. Sebastian happens to be there with his friends and decides to rescue her. He conveniently needs a wife to deter his mother from setting him up with a proper lady and a farmer’s wife is the perfect revenge. Except that Emma is actually a gently bred lady and just doesn’t tell him so. Sebastian is shocked by how well she cleans up and attempts to seduce her on the daily, but she refuses him. Until she doesn’t. This was a relatively quick low-angst romance, with just the right amount of drama and villainy to keep things interesting.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Since the Surrender by Julie Anne Long (2009)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Pennyroyal Green series. Former Captain Chase Eversea is all sorts of aimless after being injured in the war and returning to his family home. So much so that his family has banished him to London on a task and to find some purpose. On his first day back in London, he’s summoned by a mysterious note to a not-so-popular museum. Rosalind is the widow of his commanding officer in the army and his one shameful secret of indiscreet behavior; he very much wants to avoid her, but it seems she needs his help. Rosalind is concerned about her sister who was arrested for theft and then has since disappeared from prison without a trace. She needs Chase’s help to discover what happened to her. While he refuses to help at first, he eventually gives in and they need to team up to follow the trail of clues. The mystery plot of this story was super interesting to uncover, plus, we get to see the ever-so-stoic Chase slowly let down his guard and give into his feelings for Rosalind.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

How Not to Hate a Duke by Jennifer Haymore (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novel. Georgiana is a wealthy merchant’s daughter completely tired of the fortune hunters seeking her attention. She’s convinced by her good friend to attend a house party in the country to avoid some of those terrible suitors. Meanwhile, a certain dastardly duke is also invited to the same house party. Theo has recently inherited the title from his depraved father but is believed to be of the same ilk, leaving him emotionally exhausted by all the hatred by his neighbors and tenants. It doesn’t help that Georgiana’s family is the main opponent to Theo’s endeavors due to a long-standing family rivalry. When Georgiana and Theo realize they’re at the same house party, they first try to avoid each other, and then end up antagonizing (and then flirting with) each other. But you know that open communication does wonders, so they start to actually get along (and maybe even fall in love). The drama with Georgiana’s family is still looming though and Theo has a lot of work to do to fix his reputation on his estate.

Advance ebook provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.

The True Heir by Merry Farmer (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 6 of the Secrets of Nedworth Hall series. This book will make the most sense after reading the rest of the series because it has to do with the overarching mystery of a secret heir to a fortune. Millie is a farmer’s daughter who has been sponsored by a countess to attend the house party as a lady’s maid. A brief introduction to a helpful David has her believing that he’s a valet, but it is soon apparent that he’s a duke and very much out of her league. David is kind and thoughtful and really has very little tolerance for the chaos and mayhem of the house party. He’s disappointed to find that the only woman he’s drawn to (Millie) is a lady’s maid and very much below his station. However, we find out pretty quickly that they’re better suited than they think and we get to see a lot of secrets revealed in this story. Quick read and nice way to tie up the whole series.

Advance ebook provided by Merry Farmer via BookSprout

I Kissed an Earl by Julie Anne Long (2010)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Pennyroyal Green series. Violet is the outgoing, fiery, but coddled daughter of a gentleman who is bored of society and longs for adventure. She meets the ship captain turned earl Flint at a ball and is quickly intrigued by him, even if a bit disapproving. However, upon conversation with Flint and his first mate, she believes that her own missing brother may also be the dangerous pirate that they’re charged with capturing. So Violet does the rash and reckless thing and stows herself onto their ship with her trunk hoping to save her brother. Except for the fact that she doesn’t actually have a plan. Flint is irritated and angry to find Violet aboard and threatens to toss her overboard, but is equally intrigued by her, and may even believe her speculation about her brother’s involvement. However, he’s absolute in his determination to carry out his orders to capture the pirate, despite his growing feelings for Violet. The romance here was definitely a slow-build here, with Violet constantly being intimidated by Flint’s brutish behavior. And then all sorts of action-adventure you’d expect on a ship on the high seas.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Girls Before Earls by Anna Bennett (2021)

Historical romance. Regency England. Book 1 of the Rogues to Lovers series. Hazel is the headmistress of a new finishing school and an earl has come to drop off his 15 year old niece who was recently orphaned. The niece has been acting up (understandably) and was kicked out of two other schools recently. Although Blade is willing to pay any cost to enroll his niece and then go back to London and about his miserable existence, Hazel insists that he come back and visit his niece every two weeks. Over the course of those visits, he slowly develops a relationship with both his niece and the fetching headmistress. I enjoyed learning about Blade’s backstory and why he avoids love and heartbreak; you can sort of see the signs of it early on when he talks about his lost love and how he was also estranged from his brother, but it’s still heartbreaking when you see it all laid out plainly. Hazel has her own hurts from the past and tries to maintain her composure and resilience, but then realizes that she needs to open up and go after what she wants. It’s a fun introduction to our seaside town and characters and a nice set up for future books in the series.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

One Duke Down by Anna Bennett (2023)

Historical romance. Regency England. Book 2 of the Rogues to Lovers series. Another fun book from Anna Bennett. Fisherman’s daughter Poppy discovers an injured man washed up on shore who claims to be a duke. She trades him shelter for money while he figures out who might have attacked him. These two have instant rapport and chemistry with each other with a lot of easy teasing and flirting. However, there’s Poppy’s poor history with members of nobility, the duke Keane actually turning out to be a duke, plus the drama of Poppy’s wayward brother, and the mystery of Keane’s assault. Despite all of these obstacles, Poppy and Keane are sure of each other’s character and integrity and never once doubt the other person. Absolutely enjoyable read!

Advance ebook provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

It Takes a Rake by Anna Bennett (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Rogues to Lovers series. Kitty and Leo were both apprentices to his grandfather’s architecture office before Leo suddenly moved to London. Four years later, he’s back in town after his father’s death and taking over the architecture business. He’s had a longstanding crush on Kitty all this time, even though she had never noticed him in that way, and they always bickered and fought when they worked together. Total opposites just getting on each other’s nerves. Well, now that he’s back, Kitty is teasing him for being too much of a nice guy to get his dream girl, so somehow she’s trading rake lessons for math checking on her latest architectural design. She doesn’t know that Leo only has eyes for her and the transformation is really to spend more time with her, and of course, she’s totally confused when she realizes that Leo is actually very attractive. She’ll need to get over her fear of the nice guy if she wants a chance at long-standing happiness with him.

Advance ebook provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

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Duchess by Design by Maya Rodale (2018)

Historical romance. Gilded Age New York. Book 1 of the Gilded Age Girls Club. Adeline is a seamstress with dreams of opening her own dress shop and has a meet cute with an impoverished duke in a hotel lobby. Brandon is in New York to seek a wealthy heiress to marry and is instantly smitten by Adeline and thinks that he’s super fortunate to find an heiress he likes in his hotel. Unfortunately, he realizes that she’s not wealthy and can’t really help him, so he’s got to begrudgingly meet and court other women. Meanwhile, Adeline is still working on her unique dress designs and finding ways to show them off. When Brandon suggests that Adeline help with inside scoop on the heiresses in exchange for her escort to the theater so she can show off her gowns, she agrees, but it’s painful pining for everyone involved. Brandon will have to work out how to deal with his money problem if he wants to end up with Adeline.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Some Like It Scandalous by Maya Rodale (2019)

Historical romance. Gilded Age New York. Book 2 of the Gilded Age Girls Club series. Daisy and Theo are lifelong enemies after he creates a cruel nickname for her as young teenagers. However, they’re forced together in an arranged engagement as Theo fails to live up to his steel magnate father’s expectations and Daisy’s family may soon be under scrutiny with her father’s investment company. Since these two are not actually interested in marrying each other, they decide to fake an engagement to relieve the pressure from their parents while they pursue other projects. Daisy is a chemist and has been developing a complexion balm that she hopes to sell and support herself. Theo is aimless and doesn’t really have much going for him except his charm and looks. Somehow, they end up teaming up on Daisy’s product and their strengths really do complement each other. Plus, as they spend more time together, they actually start to get to know one another and become friends (and maybe more). This was a fun slow-burn sort of romance with Theo being the one to prove his worth and give his full support to Daisy’s invention.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

An Heiress to Remember by Maya Rodale (2020)

Historical romance. Gilded Age New York. Book 3 of the Gilded Age Girls Club series. Department store heiress Beatrice accepts a marriage proposal from a money-seeking duke instead of running away with her secret love Wes, who is a mere assistant in her father’s store. Sixteen years later, after a scandalous divorce from the duke, and a depressing existence in England, Beatrice is back in New York. In the time that she was gone, her brother has nearly bankrupt her beloved department store and is about to sell it off. And her brokenhearted suitor Wes has opened his own rival department store and somehow become the third wealthiest man in Manhattan. Beatrice takes over her family’s store and aims to turn things around with the support of her new empowering female friends, stoking a business rivalry with Wes. Except those feelings of attraction and admiration are still simmering in the background, just waiting to break through.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

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Thanks for reading Random Olive Reads! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

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Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Lady and the Rake by Annabelle Anders (2020)

Book 6 of the Lord Love a Lady series. A widow is ready to remarry in order to potentially have a child, but she wants to make sure her much older fiance still has the ability to perform. She sneaks into his bedchamber hoping to prove his prowess and comes across a strapping young man instead. That young man actually turns out to be the fiance’s rakish nephew who continues to flirt with the lady throughout the party.

Shop this book via Amazon

Odds on the Rake by Sofie Darling (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the All’s Fair in Love and Racing series. Gemma dresses up as a stable hand to infiltrate the Duke of Rakesley’s racing stable and collect information for a rival horseman. Gemma and her twin brother were the illegitimate children of an earl and are running away from his overbearing care. When Gemma gets to the duke’s stables, she has a way with the wild and untrained horse and quickly moves up to being a jockey. While Rake runs an impressive stable, he’s curious about the new stable hand “Gem”. When he finally realizes that his new employee is a woman (and a very attractive one), they start a steamy affair that keeps her feeling guilty about her initial motives for being there.

Advance ebook provided by Oliver Heber Books via NetGalley.

The Perfect Rake by Anne Gracie (2005)

Book 1 of the Merridew series. The oldest sister of the Merridew siblings is generally known as the least beautiful of the bunch. With impoverished circumstances, she decides to fake an engagement to a duke so that her sisters will have a better chance at marrying well. When she storms into the duke’s house, his cousin is there to meet her and is pretty much instantly besotted with her. This book has my favorite subplot, where the guy thinks the lady is beautiful and doesn’t understand why anyone else would think her plain.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Libro.fm

The Rakehell of Roth by Amalie Howard (2021)

Book 2 of the Regency Rogues series. At the end of the Book 1, we see Isobel and Winter get married, basically saving her from the unwanted attentions of a villain, and we’re thinking everything will be happily ever after for them. Except, it’s not. We’re three years later and Isobel has basically been left in the country by herself while her husband goes back to London to run his gaming hell and being a rake with a scandalous reputation. She decides to go and confront him and try to make a real marriage of the deal, but he’s all afraid of feelings, so he pushes her away. Until he doesn’t.

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The Rake’s Insatiable Bride by Caroline Lee (2022)

Historical romance. Victorian-era Scotland. Book 3 of the Those Kilted Bastards series. Jade seeks a night with a courtesan so she can lose her virginity on her own terms before her guardian/uncle forces her to marry. Cameron is a charming rake of a man who plays up his debauched reputation by giving women pleasure. Both are victims of a marriage-by-proxy scheme that surprisingly brings them back together and then forces them to stay in the same cottage in a rainstorm. While Jade had no intention of getting married, she’s slowly falling in love with Cam as they spend more time together. It’s an isolated little vacation for them, until the storm breaks and we have to clear up the mess.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes by Eva Leigh (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Last Chance Scoundrels series. After younger sons of an earl Kieran and Finn assist their friend Dom in jilting their sister Willa at the altar, both families set down an ultimatum for the three scoundrels: each needs to marry a respectable woman within twelve months time or they all get financially cut off. Kieran’s book is first, followed by Finn in Book 2, and Dom in Book 3. As a terrible scoundrel, Kieran doesn’t have the best reputation among respectable ladies of the ton, so he needs some assistance gaining entry into polite events. He asks Dom’s sister Celeste, the epitome of a proper young woman despite her upbringing, to help him get into these events so that he can find a suitable bride. She refuses at first, but when her father insists that she is to marry her suitor at the end of the Season, she decides to strike a bargain with Kieran: she’ll help him if he takes her to scandalous places at night. Of course in spending all this time together, they grow close and fall in love, and they were already attracted to each other from the start. It was fun to see Kieran learn a different side to Celeste and appreciate the tough and brave person she is underneath all of the societal propriety she exhibits in the daytime.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

A Rake’s Guide to Seduction by Caroline Linden (2008)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Reece Family Trilogy series. Celia is the younger sister of a duke in her first Season and enjoying the balls and parties and suitors; she is rescued from a proposal by her brother’s scandalous friend Anthony and is somewhat intrigued by him. Anthony is heir to an earl who had cast him out and cut off any financial support, so he is forced to gamble and make investments for his living. Anthony seems to believe that he is an unworthy suitor for Celia, but still takes a chance and asks the duke for permission to court her. Unfortunately, he’s too late, and Celia is already engaged to someone else. We learn more about Celia’s engagement and marriage through her diary entries up until her husband’s death four years later. We pick up the story again when Celia is out of mourning and her mother has arranged a house party to lift her spirits. There, Anthony and Celia slowly reconnect, as much as he tries to avoid her due to his scandalous reputation.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean (2010)

Book 1 of the Love by Numbers series, and the first historical romance published by Sarah MacLean. This one finds spinster Callie facing a life in the country after her younger sister marries, so she makes a bucket list of London adventures to complete before she goes. One of the items is to kiss a gentleman passionately, so she sneaks into her long-time crush’s house and kisses him. He offers to assist her in the items on her list. So of course they spend lots of time together doing things that proper ladies shouldn’t, like fencing, smoking, and sneaking into clubs to gamble. Such a fun book and covers a lot of the usual locations in a typical regency romance.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Rumors and a Rake by Jane Maguire (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Inconveniently Wed series. Catherine is the younger sister of the earl from Book 1 and has been shy throughout her season. We start this book at a house party where Catherine is attending with her friend Lavinia, and Catherine is trying to make a match with a gentleman who is quiet and bookish like she is. Philip is a dissolute rake, third son of a marquess, but now the heir due to the deaths of his older brothers. With the marquess in ill health, Philip’s mother had decided to drag Philip to this house party to select a bride. Catherine very much wants to avoid Philip after having witnessed him debauching a lady at a ball, but is still quite attracted to him. However, they keep bumping into each other at this house party and Philip ends up rescuing Catherine from the unwanted attentions of another man, ultimately leading to their marriage. After that, we have both people keeping secrets from each other, but somehow having it all work out.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham (2020)

Book 1 of the Society of Sirens series. Seraphina is a woman with a scandalous reputation and treated horribly by people in town. She’s setting out to write her memoirs and expose the horrible man who ruined her. Somehow while on her writing retreat, she meets Adam, a quiet and serious architect with two young kids. They decide to start an affair, but they each have tons of emotional baggage, so it’ll take a lot longer to open up to each other with more than just physical attraction.

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The Rebel and the Rake by Emily Sullivan (2021)

Book 2 of the League of Scoundrels series. Sylvia is a lady’s companion at a house party being blackmailed into stealing documents. Rafe is a guest there as well, but also secretly running an investigation. As he sees Sylvia behaving strangely, of course, he ends up being suspicious of her. These two mostly just keep bumping into each other and getting in each other’s way, but are mostly afraid of having their secrets discovered.

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Kiss the Rake Hello by Tracy Sumner (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 13 of the Wicked Widows’ League series. This one is a pretty quick novella where a widow, Alexandra, and her childhood neighbor, Cortland, meet again. He’s had a crush on her forever and she’s looking for a night of pleasure after her disappointing marriage. A pretty uncomplicated plot but sweet to see Cort shy and fumbling around the woman he’s loved since he was a kid playing pranks on her. Super short to read and enjoy.

Advance ebook provided by Tracy Sumner via BookSirens.

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Next of Kin by Hannah Bonam-Young (2022)

Contemporary romance. Book 1 of the Next series. Chloe gets shocking news that her birth mother has just unexpectedly delivered a premature daughter and Chloe is on the list of potential guardians. Not wanting her baby sister to get shuffled through the foster care system, Chloe agrees to the guardianship with intent to adopt. With her freelancing career not providing enough evidence of financial security, she teams up with another guardian who needs better housing and can pay part of her rent so that they can each achieve their goals. Warren is the older brother to a deaf teenager who has also been in foster care and looking for more household stability. While the roommate situation is intended to be temporary, it’s only a matter of time before their lives start to intertwine. Super fun banter between Chloe and Warren and an excellent found family within their apartment.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

In Want of a Viscount by Lorraine Heath (2024)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Chessmen series. Leonora is an American inventor in England with her family seeking investors in her writing machine, although her crass overbearing mother is seeking a titled husband for Leonora. She sneaks off to a ladies’ club and asks for a kiss. The club owner seems to be short-staffed in the gentlemen escort department and asks his own titled brother, Rook, to see to the kissing. Rook and Leonora don’t exchange names, but do exchange a kiss, leaving Leonora passed out from absinthe and Rook wondering what he did wrong. And of course, they cross paths later when Rook turns out to be a potential investor in the company. They flirt, they dance, they can’t seem to stay away from each other. And Rook is the only man (aside from her father) who has ever appreciated Leonora’s curiosity for machinery. However, Rook is not interested in marriage and basically a very controlled man who denies himself lustful indulgences due to his own father’s scandalous behavior. These two are fairly slow to realize they’re perfect for each other, but it’s a fun read along the way.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

Harry Potter Fanfic: Maybe in another life by BothMalfoysPlease

Snape/Hermione Time-Travel Romance. 24k words. Hermione goes back to the end of Snape’s fifth year and befriends him during his sixth. They team up to change the trajectory of Snape’s life and start a romance along the way. Relatively short and sweet fic.

Read this fic on Archive of Our Own

The Chemistry of Familiar Objects by Alexandra Vasti (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novella. Emmeline and Robert share a building for their respective professions: she’s a chemist and he’s a printer. They are total opposites and do not get along at all. Except for the part where they’re inexplicably drawn to the other person. Emmeline starts the day by telling Robert that she’s purchased the building and he’s being evicted, but the end the day chasing after thieves that are stealing Emmeline’s work. We get a two or three day wild goose chase with these two grumpy outspoken people finally actually talking to each other. And more-than-talking to each other. Super fun with lots of hijinks.

Ebook available for free at author’s website.

Like No Other Lover by Julie Anne Long (2008)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Pennyroyal Green series. Straightlaced insect researcher Miles pretty much loses his head and starts composing poetry the moment he sets eyes on Cynthia at a ball. Unfortunately, he overhears her calling him dour and boring, so he decides that he hates her now. Except he doesn’t and he’s absurdly attracted to her. When Cynthia gets invited to his home by his sister for a house party after some sort of scandal, he tries to avoid her, but fails miserably. Cynthia has no family, no money, no prospects, and a dwindling reputation, so this house party is her only chance to find a husband. Except Miles is being overly critical of her methods, even while he’s supposed to be courting a young lady whose father will fund his next expedition. These two bicker and argue and somehow can’t keep their hands off each other. And you’d think it was just lust driving them, but they do actually seem to understand the other person better than anyone else in the world, making it even more heartbreaking that they really aren’t a suitable match for each other.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Highland Heartbreaker by Steffy Smith (2024)

Historical romance. 14th Century Scotland. Book 2 of the Highland Hearts series. We have an arranged marriage here between the son of a Scottish laird and an English lady. Everyone is apprehensive of the match, but Alex is instantly attracted to Grace when he sets eyes on her. She generally has a nervous disposition but likes how welcoming Alex and his sister are to her. When Alex’s father shows up after the wedding, things are tense because of his prejudices against the English, and Grace is also wary of Alex’s womanizing reputation. It’s pretty clear that he’s smitten with Grace though and the drama there resolves rather quickly. This book was a relatively quick read and plenty steamy.

Advance ebook provided by Steffy Smith.

A Perfect Groom by Samantha James (2004)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Sterling Family series. Justin is the second son of marquess and a total rake and scoundrel. His cruel father has always berated Justin for being a replica of his scandalous mother, and he basically just continues to live up to that expectation. When he returns to London after a stint on the Continent, his friend has told him about a certain young lady who has rebuffed several suitors and is known as the Unattainable. They get into a friendly wager on whether Justin will be able to bed her within a month. Of course, when he finds out that the lady is Arabella, the daughter of a vicar who had plagued him once before, he’s pretty sure that he won’t win that bet. Except that he can’t seem to help antagonizing the lady every time they cross paths and also find all the bickering exciting and enjoyable. She tries to resist him as well, since she does not approve of his reputation and behavior. But he’s still the most handsome man in England, and she does ultimately fall under his charm.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

His Public Claim by Evie Rose (2024)

Mafia romance. Part of the Everyone is Watching series. Super short novella. We have a virginity auction among mafia bosses and a daughter of one mafia man who owes a huge debt. Nicole is up for sale and rescued by her brother’s best friend and long-time crush Lev. She doesn’t know it’s him because everyone’s wearing a mask. Turns out he’s ultra-protective of her and just wants to rescue her. Unfortunately, they need to do the deed in front of the audience before they can leave. This novella is high on the steam and low on the plot, but sometimes, that’s just exactly what you’re looking for.

Advance ebook provided by Evie Rose.

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Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Read more about getting the most out of your library card

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Learn more about Kindle Unlimited

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Read an introduction to fanfiction

Learn more about sources for reading fanfiction

Thanks for reading Random Olive Reads! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Follow me on Instagram at @randomolive

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Support this page with a donation

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.